Michael (Jason Bateman) becomes romatically involved with Maggie (guest star Julia Louis-Dreyfus, ) in the "Arrested Development" episode. Click photo for larger image.

HOLLYWOOD -- At this point in the TV season, it almost seems too late to beg, but I'll make my pitch anyway: If you haven't watched Fox's smart, funny comedy "Arrested Development," check it out tonight in a special time slot at 9:30 following "American Idol."

This cockeyed comedy about the dysfunctional Bluth family has struggled in the ratings Sundays after "Malcolm in the Middle." Like the late, lamented "Andy Richter Controls the Universe," it's probably too smart for Fox, home of the reality shows "Forever Eden" and "Playing It Straight."

Shot single-camera style without a laugh track (similar to "Malcolm"), "Arrested" has a warped sense of humor, but if you're willing to go with it, the show provides lots of bizzaro laughs.

Jason Bateman stars as Michael, the only "normal" Bluth family member. His father (Jeffrey Tambor) is in prison for violating Securities and Exchange Commission rules, his mother (Jessica Walter) is a passive-aggressive schemer who constantly plays her children against one another. Michael's twin sister, Lindsay (Portia de Rossi), is spoiled and lazy.

And that's just half the family.

In Sunday's episode, Michael learned that his mother and Lindsay continue to draw paychecks from the Bluth Corp. even though they do no work for it and despite his efforts to exercise stricter financial controls.

"Dad hired me out of college," Lindsay explained.

"You quit college," Michael said.

"Well, I had a job," Lindsay replied. "What's the point?"

Tonight's episode features Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("Seinfeld") as a blind lawyer Michael gets involved with romantically. Only he doesn't realize she's blind at first.

"I didn't know you had a dog," Michael says to her.

"How else am I going to get to work?" she responds.

"You ride a dog to work?" asks a confused Michael.

Louis-Dreyfus is just the latest bit of inspired guest casting on "Arrested Development." Liza Minnelli appeared in several episodes this season as the girlfriend of Buster (Tony Hale), Michael's man-child brother.

Tonight's episode also features "Inside the Actor's Studio" host James Lipton as a prison warden and Amy Poeh-ler ("Saturday Night Live") as a new love interest for Gob (Will Arnett, Poehler's real-life husband), Michael's other, more competitive brother.

At a Fox cocktail party in January, executive producer and series creator Mitchell Hurwitz said low ratings for "Arrested Development" don't come as a surprise.

"You always expect not to get ratings," he said. "We're deeply encouraged about all the things the press has written about us. We glom onto it. You start the process thinking, 'I don't care about reviews,' because what if the reviews are bad? Now we're desperately clinging to them."

But he's also realistic about the show's chances for survival.

"It seems like one of those shows people will find and it will be a word-of-mouth thing or we'll go quietly away and be popular on DVD or unpopular on DVD."

Popular, for sure. "Arrested Development" is a cult classic if ever there was one. And it's a refreshing half-hour of prime time when so many comedies are cookie-cutter look-alikes.

For a series populated by oddball characters, the presence of executive producer Ron Howard -- yes, Opie! -- as the gentle-voiced narrator offers a soothing bit of reassurance.

"It's like a frame," Hurwitz said. "Like if you had this crazy painting and put a frame around it and you're like, 'Oh, I see, it's a painting!' [His narration] is like, 'You're in good hands, audience.' "

"Arrested Development" is semi-serialized with continuing stories, a conscious decision, Hurwitz said.

"We're all competing against reality TV shows now, and you think what brings you back to reality TV and it's the continuing stories," Hurwitz said. "For years networks were afraid of serialized stories because it locked you into an airing order, but it's becoming more apparent it's what fans appreciate."

Some fans also like the gag "next time on" previews at the end of each "Arrested" episode. Hurwitz said it started as a ploy when pitching the series to Fox executives last spring.

"The first thing they ask you is, 'What next?' We knew [in focus group testing] they always ask, 'Would you watch this show again?' It was a very cheap ploy to get people to answer yes. Now it's become a funny way to put our final jokes in there."

FX will air a three-hour marathon of "Arrested Development" episodes at 2 p.m. Sunday. A new episode airs at 9:30 p.m. Sunday on Fox.